It's Kinda HOT in Australia

They had to add a new color to their heat intensity maps... the purple color. That represents 54°C (129.2°F).

A few hours ago, it was midnight in Sydney and 95°F.

A stupid tourist was heard saying "If it is this hot in the winter, I sure as hell wouldn't want to be here in the summer."

Eric wrote:

They had to add a new color to their heat intensity maps... the purple color. That represents 54°C (129.2°F).

That is just crazy... unbelievably hot! I'd just read in the news last night that the heat was causing fires down there. This isn't the article I read, but here is a piece "in pictures."

Australian heatwave sparks fires - in pictures
High winds and record temperatures continue to fan blazes in the south-east of Australia, forcing firefighters to battle scores of fires and authorities to declare a 'catastrophic threat level' – the most severe – and to evacuate national parks. So far, no deaths have been reported

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2013/jan/08/australian-heatwave-sparks-fires-in-pictures

riceme wrote:

Australian heatwave sparks fires - in pictures

I have been a volunteer fireman and, in the summer, those big jackets are incredibly hot. We used to strap on water tanks on our back (maybe 4-5 gallons) and walk into the thickets, squirting water on the fires. It's easy to trip in thickets with a tank on your back and wearing heavy boots and jacket.

After wearing a tank for a while, I looked forward to using one of those "flappers"... a flap of rubber affixed to a pole that snuffed out burning grasses.

LOL. I am the ONLY kid in my family (of 18 cousins in all) who never fought fire for the Forest Service, although I worked for the USFS for several years and hauled my fair share of those darn 5-gal water tanks on my back. Even though it only weighs about 42-lbs (not counting the container), I think it feels like so much more because those galvanized steel containers are SO uncomfortable and the water sloshing around in them makes it seem so ungainly.

We used to take every opportunity to jump into a creek or (better yet) a culvert to cool-off.

Geez, I hadn't thought about that in years. Thanks for the "great" memories, EE.